Tag Archives: Kirnan Da Ahlanan

Gurcharan Rampuri is a Vancouver based Punjabi writer who has published over thirteen collections of poems, won over twenty literary awards from India, Canada, Denmark and USA; and his poetry books have been translated in Urdu, English and Hindi. He was one of the five poets in the ‘Anthology of Modern Punjabi Poetry‘ published in Russian from Moscow in 1957, and his poems were featured in Green Snow, an anthology of Asian poets in Canada. The Circle of Illusion: Poems by Gurcharan Rampuri (2011, translated by Amritjit Singh & Judy Ray), is Rampuri’s latest publication.

Born in Rampur in the Indian Panjab, Rampuri began writing in 1944, and he had published three collections of poems (Kirnan Da Ahlanan 1963, Qaul Qarar 1960, Kamkan Di Khushbo 1953) before coming to Canada in 1964.

Rampuri settled in Vancouver, and in the next two decades played a crucial role in encouraging Punjabi literary groups, programs and events. In 1972, he published Anhee Gali and Kanchni, two books in one volume. His other titles include Qatalgah (1985), Agnaar (1993), Aj Ton Aaranbh Tak (2001) and Dohavali (2004). Two CDs of his poems titled Nadi Naad were released in 2005.

Among his many awards are: Punjabi Sahit Academy, Chandigarh, India in 1982; Life Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution to Punjabi Language, Literature and Culture from Vancouver’s Punjabi Lekhak Manch in 2007, and Harjit Kaur Sidhu Memorial Achievement Award for Contribution to Punjabi Literature in 2009.